Improvisational Outfits
by KitKatt0430
Summary: Yuri knew traveling the world shouldn't have been conducive to acquiring so many things, but somehow he seems to have gathered quite a few new outfits... A story-dump for one-shots inspired by various outfits and items gathered by all the characters during the game (and a few outfits that should have been). All stories will feature Yuri/Flynn... and most are rated M for a reason.
1. Improvisational

Disclaimer – _Tales of Vesperia_ belongs to Namco. May they continue to make wonderful games to play.

Summary – Yuri/Flynn stories revolving around the unusual wardrobe Yuri's picked up during his travels...

A/N – Each chapter will be a stand-alone story, but since they're all running on the same theme I'll be collecting them here. Also... expect lots of smuttiness. Not in every story, but... my brain seems to be falling into the gutter more often than not with this couple.

Costume – Improvisationist

_**Improvisational**_

The costume should have been ridiculous. Really, it should have been. The pants were puffy, the red horns looked silly, and the shirt...

Flynn's throat went dry the instant he caught sight of Yuri in that shirt. Since Yuri's normal attire typically ended up with the shirt left undone to about mid-chest, Flynn had grown used to Yuri's extreme aversion to having anything around his neck. But the neckline on this shirt plunged to just about Yuri's belly-button, leaving everyone a tantalizing view of his stomach muscles... which were rather pleasingly defined.

Never before had Flynn realized that he could want to cover someone up and strip them completely all at once.

Not unsurprisingly, Flynn lost the plot of the play, staring at his dearest friend and thanking his lucky stars it was dark enough in the audience that no one could see how flushed he was or how his eyes only followed the villain of the piece. Not even Lady Estellise could manage to warrant more than a glance from Flynn. She looked cute in the Prince's outfit, but Yuri...

Flynn escaped as soon as he could, finding himself blinking and a bit shaken in the cool night air. The Gymnasium was next to the Inn in Nam Cobanda, so Flynn quickly crossed the distance and managed, if only just, not to run to the room he'd rented. It was with relief that he shut the door and divested himself of his shoes and armor.

Sinking onto the bed, he threw an arm over his eyes and tried to understand what had just happened.

Ever since Yuri's brief disappearance after the events at Zaude, Flynn's feelings for his raven-haired friend had become... unmanageably different.

At first he'd been grief-stricken, terrified at the thought that Yuri might have died. The grief had covered a deeper pain, an ache for everything that could have been and never would. Flynn had shied away from the feeling, not ready to face what it might mean. Later, when the Schwann Brigade reported that Yuri was still alive and well, he'd been unable to truly grasp the idea that Yuri was truly okay and traveling with his guild and Lady Estellise once more. Flynn had continued in his haze, not really grieving but yet unable to shake the weight that had fallen upon him.

When Yuri showed up at the place that became Aurnion, armed with Rita's latest invention and ready to save the day... Flynn felt alive and unburdened for the first time since Zaude. He'd felt as though he could take on all the monsters on the continent and win, if only Yuri would fight at his side. And though they didn't fight all the monsters on the continent, it sure as hell felt like they did. When it was over, he'd grabbed on to Yuri, trapping the other in a hug all while desperately wishing he wouldn't ever have to let go. Yuri's equally fierce embrace had made releasing him all that much harder.  
In that moment, with Yuri held in his arms, the ache within him had finally faded.

So of course Yuri had to decide lead his guild to Tarqaron to stop Duke and implement Rita's plan for using Spirits to defeat the Adephagos. Watching Yuri prepare his friends for yet another desperate battle, Flynn felt the ache come back. His thoughts grew panicky, conjuring up terrifying images of Yuri getting killed by the unknown dangers that awaited him.

After everything they'd been through, this was finally a task that did not require them to come at it from separate angles. The Empire was changing because of them, just as they'd promised and each had accomplished amazing goals to keep that promise, though they were only tangentially aware of the other's achievements. But everything they'd achieved would be for naught if the Adephagos destroyed the world. Defeating it was surely something they both needed to do together. With such a thing floating in the sky, there was no way Flynn could stay behind and wait... and Sodia could surely handle his duties for the short time he was away. At any rate, he'd convinced Ioder easily enough and Yuri and his guild had no objections to him joining them.

Truthfully, though, Flynn just couldn't bear the thought of letting Yuri out of his sight. After coming so close to losing him once already and the painful aching in his chest... Flynn longed for a chance to fight at Yuri's side for even a short time. He longed to bask in the warmth that radiated through him when Yuri was near.

He'd stuck to Yuri like glue since leaving Aurnion, enduring the occasional 'Mother Flynn' joke. In turn, Yuri tolerated Flynn's sudden tendency to reach out to touch Yuri's hand or arm or hair... just to reassure himself that Yuri was really there and not dead. This was real, not some horrible trick his mind came up with to cope with an unbearable loss.

But tonight...

Oh, god, tonight.

Flynn hadn't just stared at Yuri; he'd been ogling the man. Only the fact that other people were in there had stopped him from going up on stage and running his hands over Yuri's tantalizingly exposed skin.

Though he'd been attracted to others before, this was the first time Flynn could remember feeling outright lustful towards anyone. Except this wasn't just anyone, this was his best friend.

Burying his face in the pillow, Flynn let out a groan of frustration. His shifting feelings could end up ruining their longstanding relationship. If Yuri found out...

"The play wasn't that bad, was it?"

Oh no...

"You practically ran out as soon as the lights came on after we took our bows," Yuri continued.

No no no no no...

The door shut with a loud thud. "Flynn... are you feeling okay?"

Flynn looked up and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." He immediately wanted to take back the statement. Yuri was still in-costume, though the red horns had already come off. The horns and Yuri's normal clothes were tossed onto one chair while Yuri slouched onto another.

Yuri then reached for his boots, giving Flynn a rather nice view of his abs. "Then, if you're feeling fine, that goes back to the play. Was it really so horrible?"

"N-no," Flynn stammered out, his face growing hot as he grew flushed and flustered.

"Then why'd you run off like that? You've spent the last week all but plastered to my side at Aurnion and even more so since we left; it was a little disconcerting to see you leave me behind like that."

"I..." Flynn floundered, not knowing what to say. It'd be a bad idea to tell the truth, but Yuri could always tell when he lied. "Uh..."

Yuri's shirt fell open a little further, showing more of his stomach... including a scar Flynn didn't recognize. He'd thought that he knew all of Yuri's worst injuries... Estelle hadn't mentioned having to heal Yuri from a wound so severe and it was certainly the sort of news she'd know he'd want.

So when...?

"Where did that come from?" Flynn asked.

"Don't try to change the subject," Yuri said teasingly. He started to say something else, but Flynn cut him off.

"This is more important," Flynn insisted. "That scar... when did you get it? It's hard to tell from here, but it looks recent." Rolling over to the edge of the bed, Flynn sat and then stood.

Self-consciously, Yuri pressed a hand over his shirt where the scar was, blocking it from view. "Yeah, it's... it's recent." He paused and then shook his head. "It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" Flynn walked over and knelt in front of the chair his friend sat on. Then he batted Yuri's hand out of the way before pushing the sleeves of Yuri's shirt off the raven-haired man's shoulders. Yuri let out a shuddering breath as Flynn's fingers brushed lightly over the scar-tissue. "Did this... happen at Zaude?"

"Yes..." Yuri's voice shook slightly, calling Flynn's attention to Yuri's face. His cheeks had taken on a pink tinge and suddenly Flynn was aware of of just how presumptuous his actions were.

"No one said anything about you being injured during the fight," Flynn murmured, withdrawing his hand. "How did this happen?"

"When I fell..." Yuri sighed, looking away. "That's when I was hurt."

"By the shards of the crystal?" Flynn asked sceptically. Parts of the Apatheia had splintered off when it crushed Alexei, but it was doubtful that the scar on Yuri's stomach could have been caused by those shards. It was too thin and precise. A chunk of broken Apatheia would have left a wider, more jagged scare. If anything, the scar looked like had been caused by something like a sword or a knife...

"I won't lie to you, Flynn."

"But you don't want to tell me, either."

"It was a mistake," Yuri insisted. "It... she..." he trailed off and bit his lip.

"She..." Flynn echoed, not liking where this was going. "Lady Estellise would never hurt you," he said flatly. "I don't know Rita well, nor Judith, but they were with Lady Estellise and the others. They took your disappearance very hard as well. But your friends weren't the only ones up there." Really, there was only one logical answer.

"Flynn, she thought she was doing the best thing for you..."

"Stop excusing her!"

Yuri flinched. Very quiet, he whispered, "I'm sorry, Flynn."

"She tried to kill you and you didn't say anything. Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

"I..."

Not paying attention, Flynn rose back to his feet and began to pace. "I spent days with the fleet, searching for you, Yuri, and the person responsible for taking you away from me stood at my side the entire damn time. I stopped searching personally because she promised to take over and find you herself. What would have happened if she had found you out there? Would she have just... finished the job?"

"Flynn..."

"When Leblanc told me he saw you, it seemed impossible that you could really be okay. You'd been missing for so long I'd been forced to call off the search. No one wanted to admit it, but it seemed likely that you'd drowned and your body was... somewhere... somewhere under the water..." his voice choked off.

"Flynn, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Turning to face Yuri, Flynn saw that he'd pulled the sleeves back up over his shoulders. He was looking down, his expression distraught. "I never meant to hurt you."

"Oh, Yuri..." Flynn pressed a hand against his forehead, watching his friend. "She's the one who hurt me. I just don't understand why you never said a word. How could you stand to see her without telling everyone what she did?"

"You really don't understand the way people look at you. Flynn..." Yuri trailed off for a moment, clearly searching for the right way to express what had been going through his head when he'd decided to... ignore what Sodia had done to him. "When she saw you push me out of the way and you were injured for it, she blamed me for that injury."

"It was Alexei who..."

"I know," Yuri interrupted softly. "Think about it from her point of view, though. The first time she met me, I was a wanted criminal and you didn't arrest me."

"You were technically in Lady Estellise's custody."

"No one really saw it that way. Not even you. I then proceeded to ignore your advice and lead Estelle, along with one of Aspio's brightest mages, in an illegal search of Ragou's home. That he turned out to be a child-torturing sociopath doesn't excuse what I did. Half the time, both in Capua Nor and Capua Torim, we were arguing. The next time she saw me, I was leading my guild in running your blockade in the Weasand of Cados... and then in Nordipolica we had that rather spectacular fight in which I called you on blindly following Alexei, you called me on murdering Ragou and Cumore... and we both said a lot of things we're not exactly proud of."

Yuri hesitated and then added, "I could never do it, you know that right?"

"What?"

"I could never kill you. I'd sooner kill myself than even try."

"Don't... don't say things like that." Flynn sat back down on the bed, dazed. "Don't ever say things like that."

"I'm a murderer you still can't bring yourself to arrest, Flynn. Sodia has a point about me being a bad influence on you."

"His Highness is pushing through another full pardon for you," Flynn objected weakly.

"She was trying to protect you from yourself. Getting hurt because of me was just the last straw. It wasn't until she'd already stabbed me that it even occurred to her what she was doing entailed becoming a murderer herself or that what she was doing would cause you to suffer as well. She just wanted me out of your life."

"So, you're saying that you, what? Sympathize with her decision to kill you? Yuri, I still don't understand why you didn't say anything about this before."

"I... I just... everything's been moving so fast. It's insane, Flynn. There's an octopus in the sky, for god's sake. I'm not used to having so many responsibilities... and I'm exhausted. My side hurts when we're out there fighting for hours straight. Today is probably the last bit of downtime we're going to have before having to stop Duke and we're probably going to have to fight him...

"I don't even know if I can do that, Flynn. Duke saved my life at Zaude... took care of me during the week everyone spent looking for me. I was so out of it the whole time I barely remember any of it... but..."

Flynn pulled Yuri off the chair and into a hug, rocking slowly as Yuri's almost panicked breathing slowed back to normal. "I'm sorry," Flynn murmured, running his fingers through Yuri's hair. He hadn't realized how much the stress was stretching Yuri thin. Tightening his hold slightly, Flynn pressed a kiss against Yuri's forehead. "We'll find a way to convince Duke to help us... or at least not hinder our attempts," Flynn vowed. "I can't imagine he really wants to destroy humanity or..."

"Or he wouldn't have bothered saving me," Yuri finished, burrowing against Flynn's chest and giving a contented sigh.

"It was a relief," Yuri said suddenly. "Putting the burden of telling you on Sodia was a relief for me. Because it was supposed to be one less issue I'd have to worry about. I'm not really good enough to be the one who stands at your side, you know. Not anymore. It's the one thing I agree with Sodia on."

"Shouldn't that be for me to decide?" Flynn muttered grumpily. "If you won't be the one who stands with me, I'd rather be alone."

Yuri didn't say anything to that, so they just sat there for a while, Flynn still idly running his fingers through long, silky strands of hair.

"Mmm... You're gonna make me fall asleep like this," Yuri finally spoke up. He blinked up at Flynn sleepily.

Their faces were so close... all Flynn had to do was lean forward a little for their lips to meet. He shouldn't. Surely it was a bad idea...

The only person he wanted to be at his side was Yuri. There would never be anyone else. He wasn't sure he was even capable of feeling like this about anyone else.

He closed the distance.

Flynn felt Yuri grow completely still. He pulled back, heart thundering in his chest, utterly certain he screwed everything up. Yuri stared at him for a long moment, wide awake and wide eyed with shock.

Hesitantly, Yuri brought his hand up, fingertips lightly brushing his lips. "You kissed me."

"Yeah..." Flynn responded warily.

"Huh."

Arms wrapped around Flynn's shoulders and a hand snaked up into blond hair. Yuri tugged Flynn down into another kiss, but this time it wasn't one-sided in the slightest. This kiss was slow, growing bolder and more passionate as each sought to deepen it.

When, finally, they parted for air – foreheads pressed together, eyes half-lidded, breath mingling as they panted through saliva slicked lips – Yuri murmured something about moving to a bed. Flynn agreed wholeheartedly, looking forward to making his earlier fantasy a reality... by peeling the ridiculous demon outfit off of Yuri.


	2. Ears

Disclaimer – No ownership claimed or implied.

Items – Rita's cat ears & Yuri's bunny ears

_**It's the Ears that are the Problem**_

It started when Rita brought out the cat ears again. Yuri didn't care about the tail and the outfit itself was cute, but not particularly alluring to him. Those ears, though...

There was something about those ears...

So he snitched the ears one day.

Rita complained about the loss and Yuri asked her if, maybe, she'd left them at Estelle's place. She didn't answer, but she did turn bright red and dash off towards the castle. Karol couldn't stop laughing.

Yuri did feel bad about taking his friend's cat ears, but those things were driving him nuts. He'd get them back to her eventually, but first...

"Yuri, I'm not wearing these." Flynn held out the cat ears with a highly skeptical expression on his face.

"Oh, come on..."

"They're Rita's. You should give them back."

"I will," Yuri promised, plucking the ears out of Flynn's hands and putting them on Flynn's head. "Later. Much later." He dropped his hands on top of Flynn's to keep him from grabbing the ears. "Mmmm... you look cute like this," Yuri told him, drinking in the adorable sight of Flynn with a flushed, embarrassed expression, the cat ears poking out of Flynn's messy hair.

Leaning forward, Yuri captured Flynn's lips in a greedy kiss, edging him towards the bed.

Flynn turned his head away, breathing hard. "I look ridiculous." He groaned softly as Yuri started nibbling at his neck. "Yuri..."

"Come on, Flynn," Yuri purred. "For me?"

"You... really like it that much?"

"Yes."

"Okay... I'll wear the ears, but..." Flynn smirked and sat back on the bed. "Where are your ears?"

"My ears? I don't... oh." Yuri crossed quickly to his drawers and fished the bunny ears out of the bottom one. Putting them on, one of the floppy black ears fell in his face. "So, does this make me the innocent little rabbit being stalked by a hungry cat?"

"I think I'm the one being stalked by a hungry rabbit," Flynn teased. "Cats devouring rabbits does make more sense, though." He stood up and prowled across the room to where Yuri stood and pushed him against the wall. Nuzzling Yuri's neck, Flynn deliberately let the ears tickle their way down before biting his shoulder. Not hard enough to draw blood, but it would definitely leave a bruise.

Yuri's head thudded back against the wall and he moaned. Staring at Flynn through half lidded eyes, he groaned as Flynn undid his belt and slid off his vest. "Thought you weren't..." a tongue started laving his chest. "Unh... thought you weren't interested in..." he trailed off with a whine when Flynn's teeth latched onto a nipple, the shirt pushed aside.

"I just wanted to get you in the rabbit ears," Flynn told him, unbuttoning Yuri's shirt and pants. "Also, Rita's not getting these ears back." He slid Yuri's pants down with his underwear. "You'll have to buy her new ones."

"Wha-why?" Yuri shuddered, his hips bucking against Flynn's hold on him while Flynn's sinful tongue laved the underside of his erection.

"With everything I'm gonna do to you while wearing these ears... all the things you're gonna do to me..." Flynn kissed the swelling tip and looked up, a truly sinfully smug expression on his face. "Are you really gonna be able to stand seeing her wear these later on?"

Yuri's legs nearly gave out when Flynn swallowed him. "Fuck... fuck... her birthday... in a few weeks..." he moaned, his thoughts blanking out.

* * *

Rita's birthday was a few weeks later and she loved Yuri's presents: coquettes, a few new pieces of equipment for her lab... and a new pair of cat ears.


	3. Seduction

Disclaimer – Tales of Vesperia is not mine nor do I profit from it monetarily.

Outfit – Theoretical 'seduction' outfit

_**Seduction**_

"You know... I don't think women are that guard's type," Judy interrupted. "We walked passed him earlier and I'm pretty sure he was staring at you, Yuri."

"I wasn't paying attention..." Yuri frowned and glanced back. "Are you sure it's the same guard?"

"Yes." Judy nodded. "He was definitely checking you out. You'd be the perfect distraction."

Crossing his arms, Yuri huffed and then shrugged. "Yeah, sure, I'll give it a shot." He turned to go walk up to the guard when Judy grabbed his arm.

"You're not going to try and seduce him looking like that, are you?"

"You already said he was staring at me. So unless he was 'checking me out' in an uninterested sort of way..."

"Well, yes, he's interested, but not enough to leave his post for you. That'll take something special. Something... sexy." Judy smirked at Yuri's uncomfortable expression. "You have tried seducing people before, right Yuri? I mean... you're not a bad flirt."

"I'm not usually interested in seducing anyone," Yuri muttered, glaring at her. It wasn't exactly a no, though it did make it sound like he'd never tried... which he had, but not since realizing what his real feelings for Flynn were. As much as he wanted to seduce Flynn... he was afraid of screwing up their friendship. And so long as he had feelings for Flynn, he wasn't interested in going after anyone else.

Judy raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Unfortunately Estelle didn't have the same amount of tact.

"You've never had a girlfriend, Yuri?" Estelle was wide-eyed with surprise.

"Wow..." Karol sounded shocked too. "I figured you'd be really popular with the girls, Yuri."

"Women aren't what I'm interested in," he admitted, trying not to wince when Estelle's face fell slightly. He'd hoped her crush on Flynn hadn't transferred to him. "Not really interested in most guys either."

"Most guys... so there are a few you are interested in?" Judy teased, leaning in with obvious amusement.

He rolled his eyes. "Obviously. Look, how much am I going to hate you for whatever outfit you have in mind?"

"Oh... don't be like that. Maybe you'll like it." She smirked.

Yuri had to remind himself that killing Judy would be an inappropriate response to whatever she was planning.

* * *

With the long black stockings, the black skirt to his ankles with a slit up to his thigh, the purple blouse over a stuffed bra, and his hair curled around the ends, Yuri knew that he looked like a girl from a distance. Even up close, he was easy to mistake.

"What's the point of dressing me up like a woman if he was staring at me before?" Yuri wobbled slightly on the purple heels, though quickly finding his balance; they were only about three inches high at most since Yuri had threatened to stab Judy in the eyes with the stiletto heeled boots she'd first tried to foist on him.

Judy had thought it was hilarious when he made the threat, but she'd set them aside in favor of more manageable shoes just the same.

"You look really good in drag, Yuri," Judy assured him, laughing when he scowled at her. "Oh come on, smile. Trust me, this is perfect."

"You do look pretty, Yuri." Estelle's face was pink and she couldn't quite look him in the eye. "Really pretty."

"Yeah, I'd almost think you were a girl," Karol agreed, ducking when Yuri reached out to swat him.

"Whatever. I'm going to go distract the guard." Yuri stalked off through the Inn and out into the chill air. Taking a deep breath, he slowed his walk and tried putting a little swish into his step. He stopped when the swish nearly made him lose his balance. Once he got near the guard, though, he purposely stumbled into him.

"Are you alright?" The knight reached out to steady him.

"Yeah... I'm still getting used to the shoes." Yuri looked up sheepishly and met the guard's eyes. The other man had pushed up the faceplate on his helmet to reveal clear blue eyes and straight blond hair.

"You... you're that guy from earlier..." the knight stammered. "But you're..."

Yuri felt his face flush, suddenly feeling ridiculous again when face to face that this guard was... well... actually his type. "Well, sometimes... it's kind of nice to feel pretty," he said, trying not to stammer. "I don't wear things like this a lot," which was true, "but sometimes..."

"You do look pretty." The knight blushed and looked away.

"My friends don't know I do this, though. I mean... it's kind of strange isn't it?" Yuri felt a little more confident now, seeing that the guard was actually liking what he was seeing. It was almost a shame they were going to have to clobber this guy.

"No! I mean... you look good in that, so it can't be strange... not really."

Smiling a little, Yuri leaned back against the wall. "Umm... all you have to do is watch the lift, right?"

"Yes...?"

"Well..." Yuri pointed to a dark corner where Judy was supposed to waiting with Estelle and Karol. "You could also watch from there, right? I just... I'm not sure I'm ready to be standing out in the open looking like this for too long... but I like talking with you."

"Well... I'm supposed to stand here, but I'm sure I can watch just fine from there." Yuri laughed when the knight held out his arm to escort Yuri. "This way I can help you stay steady on those shoes."

"They are harder to walk on than ladies make them look," Yuri declared with a grin, sliding his hand around the offered arm.

As soon as they made it into the dark, Judy came up behind them and smacked the knight in the back of his head. Yuri let go as the guard dropped to the ground.

"Karol gets to be the knight," Yuri declared, kicking off the shoes. "I've played dress up enough for one evening."

* * *

A few month later, Yuri had – mostly – managed to put his one night of cross-dressing out of his mind. But today he was cleaning up his room at the Inn and Flynn had volunteered himself to help sort through his things. So naturally, Flynn found the skirt.

"Did... some of Judy's things get mixed in with yours?"

Yuri turned at the question and found himself face to fabric with the long purple skirt. "No... that... uh... there was a guard that needed distracting... it's a long story." Yuri blushed and yanked the skirt out of Flynn's hands.

"You... distracted a guard. By dressing like a girl?"

Crossing his arms, Yuri scowled and looked away. "It was Judy's idea. And she must have left these here for me as some sort of demented gift since I certainly didn't want to keep them."

Flynn chuckled softly.

"What?" Yuri turned to glare at his friend. "What's so funny, Flynn?"

"I just can't really imagine you in a skirt, that's all. Or this," he added, holding up the padded bra.

Yuri's blush deepened as Flynn started laughing outright. "Oh god... give me that," he snatched it away. Looking at the bra for a long moment, Yuri smiled slyly. "You know what? How about I show you?"

Flynn's laughter cut off with a small choked sound. "Show me?" he echoed.

"Yeah, sure. Everyone said I looked pretty. Might as well show off a little." Yuri smirked and then kicked Flynn out the door so he could change alone.

Once he was dressed, though, Yuri almost couldn't bring himself to open the door. It was with shaking hands that he grabbed the doorknob and forced himself to let Flynn see.

"So... last time Judy attacked my hair with a curling iron, but everything else is basically the same." Yuri stepped back unsteadily. "What do you think?"

"U-uh..." Flynn's eyes roved all over him and Yuri shivered. "Good. You look good." His voice was strange. Yuri didn't think he'd ever heard that pitch in his tone before. "W-why'd you have to wear this to distract a guard, though? I mean... you always look good... I mean..." Flynn's cheeks turned pinker as he looked away, embarrassed.

"Honestly, I didn't get it either," Yuri shut the door behind Flynn and shrugged. "Judy was pretty insistent, though, and she got Estelle in on picking out the clothes. About the only thing I got to veto was the six-inch high boots they originally picked out. I'd have probably broken my ankle in those. All I had to do was get the knight to a dark corner so Judy could clobber him in the head with her spear."

"I didn't need to hear that part," Flynn muttered.

"He was in Cumore's brigade. The guy was fine; woke up minus his armor and no way of explaining what happened to his squad without embarrassing himself, but otherwise the worst he suffered was a headache."

"So... you just... talked to him."

"Yup."

"Wearing that outfit."

"Uh-huh."

"Did he..." Flynn looked down and took a few steps forward, closing most of the distance between them. "Did he try anything with you?"

"No..." Yuri frowned. "Though he followed me to a dark corner; I'm sure he wanted to."

"But he didn't." Flynn sounded relieved as he reached out to toy with Yuri's hair. "Bet he wanted to do this," Flynn murmured and then leaned forward, pressing his lips against Yuri's.

Freezing in shock, Yuri couldn't quite believe what was happening. Flynn was kissing him.

_Flynn was kissing him._

Then Flynn started to pull away and Yuri's brain clicked back on. He surged forward, keeping their lips locked as he put his arms around Flynn's shoulders. After that was a blur of tongues and lips and tasting for the first time what he'd wanted for years. He didn't notice, until Flynn was sliding it off under his shirt, that Flynn had undone his bra.

When he tossed the stuffed thing away, Flynn ran his hands down the fabric on top of Yuri's once again flat chest. His nails slid lightly over the material of the shirt, sending shivers down Yuri's spine and eliciting a very unmanly squeak when Flynn went over his nipples.

"That's better," Flynn declared before dragging Yuri into another kiss.

"So," Yuri gasped when they pulled away again, "you like the skirt."

"Looks good on you," Flynn told him, pressing their foreheads together. "But..."

"But what?" Yuri grinned. "You've just been kissing me while I'm wearing women's clothing, Flynn. Don't get shy on me now."

"I think I'd like the skirt better if I could take it off of you."

"Mmm... let's give it a try then, shall we?" Yuri moaned as Flynn's mouth descended onto his neck, nipping and kissing and licking...

Maybe having a skirt in the wardrobe wasn't such a bad thing after all...


	4. Cleaning Days

Disclaimer – *Insert witty banter explaining why I own nothing and disclaim everything here.*

Outfit – Yuri's hot springs outfit

_**Cleaning Days**_

Flynn liked to visit the Vesperia guild house on cleaning days.

Yuri would wear a pair of bright yellow pants that seemed as if they ought to slip right off; if the drawstring was just a little bit looser... but the pants clung to Yuri's hips instead, seeming to taunt Flynn whenever he stared. Yuri would also wear a very loose white tank top with a blue emblem on it; the strips of fabric that held up the shirt would often slide down Yuri's shoulders in a most distracting manner... at least in Flynn's opinion. Yuri would also tie his hair back with a bandana or pull it up into a Rhygbaro tail. Flynn particularly liked it when Yuri's hair was up... there was just something enticing about being able to see the back of Yuri's neck.

It was a very little known fact that Yuri's neck, particularly the back of his neck, was sensitive to touch. Flynn made use of that knowledge whenever he could get away with it... which was fairly often.

On cleaning days, though, Flynn would join in with the others – above Karol's protests and that he and Lady Estellise were guests and shouldn't have to do any work – and they'd all have fun: laughing, joking, and scouring places where the dust was getting particularly thick. They'd air out closets and make piles in the front room – closed sign in place and front door locked, just in case someone didn't get the hint – for things to throw away or donate. As the day would wind down, though, they'd each disappear into their own rooms. Lady Estellise would follow Rita and Flynn would follow Yuri.

Ostensibly, they were supposed to be cleaning out the bedrooms, but...

Flynn liked to come up behind Yuri and slide his arms loosely around Yuri's hips. He'd press a kiss against a shoulder bared by a strap that had fallen to the side – or perhaps been lightly brushed out of his way – and drink in the smell of Yuri.

"Mmmm..." Yuri would always press back into the touch, tilting his head to the side to offer better access. "I thought we were supposed to be working."

"Break time." Flynn never liked to waste a chance to hear the sounds Yuri only made when certain places were kissed and licked and overloaded with attention. So, tightening his grip on Yuri's waist and sliding his other hand under Yuri's shirt to splay across his chest, Flynn moved his lips to the spot on Yuri's neck – just behind Yuri's ear and beneath his hair – that he knew would elicit some of those delicious sounds...

"Unnn-oooh..." Yuri's gasps were addictive and the noises that followed as Flynn teased always went straight to his cock. The whimpers and growls started when Yuri had enough teasing... at least at that spot anyway.

They'd edge into the bed, Flynn taking his time in stripping off Yuri's clothes. He'd make sure to go over every single place on Yuri's body he knew of that would generate noisy, needy pleasure. Though Flynn was always on the lookout for new nuances and overlooked places where he could surprise Yuri with unexpected bursts of heat and arousal.

Yuri always made it clear that he loved Flynn's thoroughness, but sometimes it went to slowly and Yuri would start trying to shove down Flynn's own pants – Flynn didn't always notice being divested of his shirt, too wrapped up in Yuri to care that the fabric would wind up on the floor somewhere, but it was hard not to notice when hands started messing with the cloth over his crotch – and Flynn would revel in the sound of otherwise uncharacteristic pleading.

"Oh... oh god, Flynn, please. Want you inside me so bad... Flynn... Flynn..."

Only he got to see Yuri so unwound and beautiful. Only Flynn got to see him covered in sweat, laid out on the bed, his hair halo-ed around him, his mouth opened to pant for breath, hands twisting in the sheets or scraping his fingernails down Flynn's back as he fell apart into a needy, desperate mess...

Flynn could never deny Yuri when he got like this. Though it certainly helped that they both wanted the same thing at that point.

Still, he'd continue to take his time, slicking up his fingers and sliding them inside of Yuri. That was when Yuri would really get noisy, rocking against Flynn's fingers and begging for more. But Flynn's favorite sound was the quiet little 'oh' that he'd make when Flynn was finally inside him all the way. They'd freeze for a moment, face to face, wrapped up in the feeling of being connected.

Then Flynn would move and Yuri's hips would rise and fall in rhythm with his own, snapping upward to draw Flynn in deeper, harder, at just that right angle that...

"Ah! Ahn! Flynn!" Yuri's voice would hit a pitch a little higher than usual. More than anything, Yuri's voice gave away how close he was to completion.

Flynn would be just as desperate at the point, peppering Yuri's face and neck and mouth with kisses in between moaning Yuri's name over and over.

In the stillness afterwards, Flynn would reach over to grab something to clean them up with. Yuri's shirt, more often than not, would wind up moping away sweat and cum. Somehow, Yuri always managed to get it clean, but... Flynn would always remember how dirty it was the last time he'd seen it.

That was another reason he liked seeing Yuri wear the shirt on cleaning days. It reminded him of how they'd messed that shirt up the last time he'd seen Yuri wear it... and want nothing more than to drag Yuri away from everyone else in order to do it all over again.

Really, it was a wonder Flynn always managed to wait at all.


	5. Reflection

Disclaimer – Though doing pretty well for myself for being only a year-and-a-half out of college, ownership of _Tales of Vesperia_ is not something I can claim as mine.

Outfit – True Knight

_**Reflection**_

Yuri always felt a bit like a fraud when he wore the armor.

Technically the armor was a gift from Ioder, but the one who'd given it to him was Flynn and the one who smuggled it into his things when he wasn't paying attention was Estelle. Yuri told himself that was completely Judith's influence on her and not his in the least. He'd almost managed to convince himself, too.

When Yuri finally realized what it was that was weighing down his pack, he couldn't quite bring himself to throw it out. At the Inn they'd stayed at that evening, he'd even tried it on in the privacy of his room. The red, gold, and grays looked flattering on him and when he'd tied up his hair, Yuri had felt like he was looking at someone else entirely.

This someone was attractive, honorable, and just. This someone could stand at Flynn's side and not worry about tainting the blond with the blood on his hands. This someone was worthy of being thought of as a hero... and this someone couldn't possibly be Yuri Lowell of the lower quarter.

Still unwilling to simply throw out the armor, Yuri had quietly packed it away at the bottom of his bag and did his best to forget it was there.

After the Adephagos was defeated, however, Yuri had to face the consequences of the murders he'd committed. Unfortunately, the consequences were nothing like what Yuri had expected. Instead of having Flynn arrest him when he returned to Aurnion, Ioder came out to greet them with Flynn, Natz, Harry, and Kaufman all standing at his side. After congratulating them on their success, Yuri had been taken aside by Ioder and the three guild leaders and they informed him of the nexus of politics his fate had become entangled within.

Having committed two murders, Yuri was wanted for trial and imprisonment by the Empire. That much, Yuri had expected. However, there was a strong movement within the council to pardon Yuri's crimes – a movement with Ioder sided with – in light of Yuri's actions in rescuing Estelle, helping to defeat Alexei, and destroying the Adephagos. The movement was currently not quite strong enough to ensure Yuri's pardon would pass on those merits alone, but there were other political pressures at work.

In order for the peace between the Empire and the Guilds to work, the Empire required at least one official representative of the Guilds to be present in Aurnion and able to travel to Zaphias as needed. Since Brave Vesperia was respected by Pallestralle largely due to the events surrounding Belius' death and their actions in protecting the city from the smaller Adephagos that attacked, Pallestralle wanted the representative to be a member of that guild, meaning Yuri, Karol, or Judith. The other members of their guild were unofficial and didn't exactly qualify, though of the three Natz believed Yuri to be the best qualified.

Kaufman agreed that Brave Vesperia would be the preferable choice and Yuri was also her specific pick of the three. She wanted it made clear to the council that Brave Vesperia was considered to be a guild allied with her own and that any legal actions taken against members of ally guilds would be scrutinized closely.

Harry explained that Yuri's actions as the Don's second had earned him the respect of all of Altosk, as well as most Union-affiliated guilds. Because Yuri had been willing to stand up when everyone else hesitated, there wasn't a single person in Dahngrest who didn't know his name. If Yuri was arrested for murder, then Ragou and Cumore's actions would be made public by the guilds. It was doubtful any guildsmen would disapprove of Yuri's actions, given the circumstances. If Yuri were to be executed, the guilds would look less favorably of overtures of equality or peace from the Empire.

Yuri, of course, had a few choice words about what he was hearing. Kaufman offered him lessons from a few sailors she knew, that way he could be really foulmouthed the next time he got that upset. She also laughed when he glared at her.

So Yuri was pardoned, but he was also stuck in the role of representative. Raven was eventually appointed as a secondary representative, but it was Yuri who was expected to do most of the work while Raven was there more to advise him.

He could still do guild work, but he couldn't roam too far.

There were also court functions that, since Yuri was practically an ambassador, he was required to attend. The armor, once buried at the bottom of the bag, was brought out again. He had to wear it with a smile and feign confidence that, wearing the armor, he did not feel.

Flynn would watch Yuri on those nights, worry obvious in his blue eyes.

Yet... it was getting easier to wear the armor lately. It was getting easier to look in a mirror and see that maybe he was more than just a murderer.

"_It's not that the armor makes you look different, Yuri. It's that, with the armor on, you see a different side of yourself. I know that makes you uncomfortable; you don't like people treating you like you're special or some kind of hero."_

"_I'm not a hero, Flynn!"_

"_But you are. Heroes are just ordinary people who do extraordinary things, Yuri. I'd certainly say that fits you."_

"_There are others who'd have done the same..."_

"_No. No, they wouldn't have. Sometimes it's so difficult to understand you. You'd think it would be easier for me, since we've known each other for so long. But sometimes... sometimes it seems like I've had an easier time learning to understand and accept Lady Estellise's decisions than yours. I want so much for you... for you to get the credit and praise you deserve. I want people to see you like I do... to care about you as much as I do._

"_I get it now, though, that having others see you that way isn't really important. What I need is for you to see yourself like I do. You have this need to protect people, but sometimes it leads you to do things that terrify me, like when you killed Ragou and Cumore. Doing that... you scared yourself too, I think. Only it's that you're afraid to see that you don't just kill to protect. You go to all kinds of trouble to help others... like rescuing children from dungeons and monsters or convincing Duke not to give up on humanity just yet._

"_I can't always agree with your way of handling things. But I can always respect your motivations because that need to help and protect... that part of you is beautiful Yuri, and that part is also what defines you. Maybe one day, you'll even be able to see that side of yourself in the mirror and recognize it's still you."_

Right now, Yuri still couldn't quite accept what he saw in himself when he wore that armor. But when Flynn stood beside him, he felt like maybe Flynn was right. Maybe one day, he'd recognize his own reflection.


	6. Meow

Disclaimer – I feel redundant at this point... er... you know what goes here, okay?

Item – Rita's cat ears again (because I think that one skit is hilarious)

_**Meow**_

The day was finally over.

Meetings all morning and one big meeting all afternoon at left Flynn with a stack of paperwork to fill out that he usually took an entire morning to complete. Four hours worth of paperwork, to be exact. He'd rerouted as much of it to Sodia as he could get away with, but that still left Flynn finishing up at eleven-forty-five.

So it was a very tired Flynn – dreading his six o'clock alarm – that trudged into his room towards the bed. He was thinking of putting off his shower until the morning and how nice it felt to just drop his armor on the ground (usually he put it away nicely, but he was just too tired to care) and wanting to pass out the instant his head hit the pillow.

So it wasn't until Flynn started climbing into bed that he realized there was someone else there. A someone... wearing cat ears.

Blinking sleepily up at Flynn, Yuri smiled and then glanced around. Then his eyes lit up a little, as though he'd remembered something amusing, and he pushed down the blankets to reveal he was already completely naked.

Despite his exhausted state, Flynn felt a heated stirring of interest.

"Did you take those from Rita?" Flynn asked, kicking off his boots, socks, and pants. Then, pulling off his shirt, he finished getting into bed.

He hoped Yuri would take the fact that he left his boxers on as a sign that he was too tired to do anything tonight.

"Meow?"

"Yuri?"

"Meow." Yuri grinned impishly and then straddled Flynn, gently pushing him down against the sheets.

"You've got to be," Flynn's breath hitched as Yuri licked his neck, "k-kidding me."

"Meow..." Yuri chuckled and nuzzled Flynn's neck, deliberately making the ears tickle under Flynn's chin.

"I'm tired, Yuri," Flynn stressed, groaning when Yuri nipped lightly around his collar bones. "Mmm... fine... but you're doing all the work."

Yuri's lips descended on his in a slow, passionate kiss; Flynn was left panting by the time Yuri pulled away, a smug smile on his face. He purred in satisfaction, leaving Flynn with the distinct impression that Yuri had planned to do everything from the start.

So Flynn relaxed, shivers of pleasure spiking through him whenever Yuri laved attention on the places where he was sensitive – the crook of his elbows, above and below and inside his belly-button, just to the side of his right hip, his left knee... the licking and kissing and nipping was driving him slowly, inexorably towards the edge. Certainly Yuri was enjoying drawing out every moan and groan and whimper Flynn had to offer, delighting the most in the places that made Flynn's hands clench the bedsheets and his body writhe as the heat built inside him, inching closer towards being unbearable.

And when Yuri latched onto Flynn's boxers... Flynn didn't think it had ever taken so long to have his underwear peeled off before. But Yuri was slow and methodical, clearly enjoying how going inch by inch was driving Flynn crazy.

All the while, the only sounds Yuri made were meows and purrs and possessive growls... such as the one he made as he finally – _finally_ – turning his attention to Flynn's thick, reddened cock, standing needfully erect. In a distinctly cat-like manner, Yuri began lapping at the beads of pre-cum with his tongue.

A slick finger circled Flynn's entrance and moaning wantonly, he spread his legs. Now Flynn wanted one thing more than sleep and that was for Yuri to hurry up and fuck him already. He opened his mouth to say so just as, with a mischievous expression, Yuri swallowed Flynn's erection whole and humming, or purring rather, in satisfaction when Flynn could only manage to shout Yuri's name in a combination of surprise and lust.

The teasing finger slid inside, followed soon by a second and then a third, but Flynn was too lost in what Yuri's mouth was doing to him to notice... until those skillful fingers found their target, that is. Scissoring and rubbing inside him, Flynn's hands desperately moved from the sheets to tangle his fingers in his lover's long hair.

So of course, that was when Yuri pulled his mouth away and slid his fingers back out.

Whining in dissatisfaction, Flynn tightened his hold on Yuri's hair. But something much bigger than fingers was already poking slickly against his anus; Flynn groaned in relief as Yuri pushed inside of him. It wasn't long before Flynn saw fireworks going off behind his eyes and felt a sticky wetness on his stomach. Yuri followed him over the edge a little bit later, leaving a bite mark on Flynn's shoulder while he shuddered, still seated deep within Flynn.

For a moment, Yuri lay atop of Flynn and then, lazily, Yuri got up on his hands and knees, hovering over Flynn as he slid out. Flynn whimpered in sleepy protest, letting Yuri slip out of his grasp. Pressing a kiss to the sleepy blond's forehead, Yuri tossed the cat ears aside and said, "tomorrow's Saturday, Flynn. You can sleep in all morning."

Humming softly, Flynn smiled and let his eyes shut. As he drifted off to sleep, he felt Yuri slide out of the bed, presumably to find something to clean them up with.

It'd be nice, to sleep in with Yuri... and maybe he could be Yuri's cat in the morning...

A/N – Rita's never getting those cat ears back... assuming they are hers and Yuri didn't just buy his own this time.


	7. Nurse

Disclaimer – I'm pretty sure that, at this point, Tales of Vesperia owns me, not the other way around.

Outfit – Estelle's nurse outfit... *snicker*

_**Nurse**_

It started with sniffles.

Yuri assumed it was his allergies getting to him, so he knocked himself out that evening with some generic allergy medicine that also doubled as an equally generic sleeping aid. While Yuri usually hated taking anything that made his so drowsy, his sniffles had already turned into a headache too. So a little extra help going to sleep was suddenly a little more welcome.

He woke up feeling cotton-headed and assumed it was an after-affect of the medicine. But his head still ached, as did the rest of his body, and his stomach felt a little queasy too. Though his first choice was to hole up in his room and sleep until he felt better, Judy and Karol dragged Yuri to the doctor's guild instead. Allergies were quickly ruled out as the culprit; Yuri had the flu.

Having been prescribed medicine with names Yuri couldn't hope to pronounce properly, he was finally allowed to go back to his room and pass out again. Yuri vaguely recalled someone bringing him soup for dinner – maybe crackers too; he was fuzzy on the details – but mostly he just slept. His fever kept him pretty out of it the next day, but afterwards, he was just achy and miserable, though definitely on the mend.

Now, of course, Yuri was suffering from a different sort of fever: cabin fever. Usually, when Yuri was sick, Flynn would take care of him. Flynn would talk to him or make really horrible soup or absently run his fingers through Yuri's hair when he thought Yuri was sleeping...

Yuri missed that. He missed having Flynn there to take his mind off of how crappy he felt. While he'd been missing Flynn for a while now, the loneliness that hit now made it hard to breathe. It was a sudden, desperate need to see Flynn, to wrap his arms around Flynn's shoulders and bury his face against the crook of Flynn's neck.

That they were in different cities on different continents felt too painful to deal with.

But the thing about being sick is that it makes concentrating an incredibly difficult task. So, despite Yuri's preoccupation with missing Flynn and wanting Flynn and feeling equally bad about being away from Flynn as he did from the flu, a sort of wonderfully random thought appeared in Yuri's head.

The thought was of Flynn, of course. Flynn with a nurses hat on his head and a cute yellow and white nurse's outfit... black tights and the white shoes with the yellow trimming...

Yuri shot up in bed, shaking his head to clear the thought away. Not that it worked. Now that the image was in his head, there was no getting rid of it.

"What am I doing?" Yuri muttered softly. How could he be imagining his friend looking like that? Sure, it would be hilarious to see since Flynn would never, ever let himself look so undignified and... kind of cute, really.

Sexy even.

Yuri groaned and flopped back in the bed. His brain did not need to be doing this now. He was well aware that Flynn matched Yuri's type perfectly, but he'd never seriously considered trying to convince Flynn to date him before. Flynn was straight, after all, and Yuri wasn't good enough for him even if it turned out Flynn was actually bi.

Still... it wouldn't hurt to fantasize a little, would it? After all, Flynn would never know.

But instead of launching into a fantasy of Flynn slowly, sensually, stripping off the nurse's outfit, Yuri's mind wandered back to the time he'd been dating Guy. Flynn had seemed to dislike Guy a great deal, perhaps even bordering on hating the other blond.

More specifically, Yuri's mind wandered back to a certain conversation the two of them had about Flynn's evident dislike of Guy. Though Flynn hadn't worn a nurse's outfit during that conversation, Yuri's mind supplied it now.

"_If there's something wrong with him, Flynn, just tell me. It's pretty obvious you can't stand Guy and I've never known you to dislike a person without a reason."_

"_There isn't anything wrong with him," Flynn admitted, looking away uncomfortably. "He seems nice enough and I haven't heard anything bad about him either. I just... don't like him. That's all. I'm sorry, Yuri... I don't want to cause problems between you and him."_

"_You're not. Though if you knew something bad about him, then I'd definitely break up with him. I like him a lot, but I trust you more." Yuri felt a little blindsided, and perhaps a bit guilty as well, at the sight of Flynn's bright smile and the feelings that stirred inside him. 'Don't go there, Yuri.'_

"_Maybe I just needed to hear you say that." _

"_He's not going to take your place, Flynn. You're my best friend and no one could be more important to me, okay?"_

"_Yeah..." Flynn frowned again. "You say that now, Yuri, but that just means you're not in love with anyone yet. When you do... well, not even I will be as important as that person. It's okay; that's how it's supposed to be, I guess... just be careful. I don't want you falling for someone I can't stand."_

"_Uh... sure." _

It was even more difficult now, sick in bed with his mind conjuring up the image of Flynn looking adorable in a nurse's costume, to rationalize away that conversation. Had Flynn just been jealous at the thought of losing his best friend? Or had he been jealous at the thought of someone else being Yuri's lover?

Yuri sighed again, this time managing to set aside his more difficult thoughts in favor of a mental image of Flynn stripping off the nurse's costume... to reveal his usual armor beneath. It really figured that imaginary Flynn was as stubborn and uncooperative as the real thing.

He needed to talk to the real Flynn and figure this out. There hadn't been anyone since he'd broken up with Guy... only a few days after that conversation with Flynn. That was nearly a year-and-a-half ago at this point. Yuri was lonely and... even when he was with his friends or the times before, when he'd dated Guy or... he'd still be lonely. On some level, he always felt lonely.

It only ever went away when Flynn was near.

Yeah... it was time to admit how he felt to Flynn. He might not be good enough for Flynn, but that was something Flynn should get to decide for himself. If Flynn thought otherwise, then Yuri could be okay - more than okay, actually - with being wrong. If Flynn didn't feel the same way about Yuri... then maybe Yuri would finally be able to move on and stop looking for a 'replacement Flynn' in the men he was attracted to. Either way, this was something he really needed to confront for his own sake.

Humming softly to himself, Yuri closed his eyes and slipped back to sleep.

A/N – Generally illness-induced epiphanies are not necessarily the best things to embrace. But in this case, Yuri should definitely go for it. And then he should convince Flynn to wear the nurse's outfit. :)


	8. Firsts

Disclaimer – I own nothing; even the slash is practically writing itself...

Outfits – Yuri's normal outfit and Flynn's Captain/Commandant Uniform

A/N – I'm not sure this really goes with the rest of the stories here since its their normal clothes, but I didn't feel like making it a stand-alone.

_**Firsts**_

Flynn hated to admit it, but the first time he saw Yuri back in his civilian clothes on the day Yuri left the Knights, it was all Flynn could do to keep from staring.

Yuri looked good. All the extra exercise he'd been getting as a Knight had filled out Yuri's arms and legs. So while Flynn had seen Yuri wear the outfit a few times before, it had never clung to the raven-haired teen quite like this.

Later, Flynn couldn't quite account for how he'd managed to say goodbye to Yuri without tripping over his words and making a complete idiot of himself.

There was something else, though, besides the way the clothes looked on Yuri that had changed. A subtle sort of confidence was being exuded from him. Yuri knew he'd made the right choice for himself and it showed.

In that moment, as Yuri walked away, Flynn knew he was in trouble again and it was all Yuri's fault. He just had to go and fall in love with that idiot best friend of his.

* * *

Yuri had always found Flynn attractive, but there was something about seeing Flynn in armor that always left Yuri feeling sort of hot and bothered. Particularly in that new uniform...

If Flynn had invited Yuri to stay that night, the first time Yuri saw him wearing it, then Yuri would have followed him into the tent and jumped him. Only they were both so upset over the circumstances surrounding Ragou's pardon that Flynn didn't notice the way Yuri looked him over and Yuri figured, considering what he was planning to do to Ragou, he wasn't really good enough for Flynn anyway.

But that didn't mean Yuri couldn't fantasize about Flynn in that gorgeous new armor and wishing... wishing he was good enough... wishing that Flynn loved him the way he loved Flynn...

* * *

This was a first, really.

The two men lay out on the grass, laughing together tiredly. Usually, whenever Yuri seemed to beat Flynn the tables would turn at the last second and Flynn would emerge the victor. Though Yuri had figured he was well passed due a win against the blond, he hadn't expected to actually get one.

"This is ridiculous," Flynn sighed softly.

Giving his friend an odd look, Yuri asked, "what is?"

"Us... the way we keep avoiding what's really going on between us."

"I... I'm not really sure I get what you mean," Yuri admitted.

Flynn rolled over so that he was straddling Yuri and then leaned over, pressing a kiss to Yuri's mouth.

Groaning, Yuri surrendered to the kiss... and to Flynn as well.

That guy... always had to turn things around for an unexpected win, didn't he?


	9. Anniversary

Disclaimer - Tales of Vesperia does not belong to me. I do not make monetary gains from the series, though I would lose money should the PS3 version ever be made available in the US.

A/N - I've been playing Tales of Xillia and it feels like Jude is somehow Yuri and Flynn's son, transported to another universe. Yuri's looks, Flynn's personality and voice-actor... surely I'm not the only person to have considered this?

outfit/object - Umm... just read the story. ;)

_**Anniversary**_

Flynn looked worn out, but still much better than the previous day when he'd been feverish. Alternating cold-sweats and hot-flashes from the flu had made Flynn act slightly delirious, but the doctor hadn't seemed too concerned since Flynn's fever hadn't reached too high before breaking. The illness ended up peaking as quickly as it had come on.

Things might have been different a few years ago, when they wouldn't have been able to afford things like a doctor's visit or the medication used to treat Flynn's symptoms and speed his recovery. A few years ago, an illness like this might have even turned deadly.

So if Yuri hovered a little too much, no one said anything. Maybe they'd seen in his eyes the ghosts of those previous years... like the time, when they were sixteen, that Flynn had a fever that had required an ice bath to finally break. Or the year before that when Yuri had been the one to nearly died from pneumonia. Or all the times when someone they'd known had died from untreated illnesses.

The lower quarter had free clinics available now, funded by a charity Estelle had made popular. So Yuri tried to worry less about when people around him got sick. Circumstances had changed for the better, after all.

Somehow, the world really was becoming a better place.

Still, Yuri would feel more at ease when Flynn looked healthier and his breathing wasn't so labored.

"I'm hungry." When Yuri didn't respond, Flynn sat up, blinking at Yuri sleepily and drawing the raven-haired man out of his thoughts. "I'm hungry," the blond repeated, smiling a little. The day before, Flynn had no appetite, so this was a wonderful sign.

Yuri smiled too. "I'll get you some soup." He leaned over and kissed Flynn on the cheek. Then, standing up, Yuri stretch, smirking at the way Flynn's eyes stared at the gap of skin that appeared between Yuri's sweat pants (which were slung a little lower than usual) and his tank top (which had shrunk a little recently after Karol had his turn at the guild's laundry and done the water too hot for the wash). "You're not well enough to be hungry for anything else," Yuri teased.

Flynn blushed. "Doesn't mean I don't still want you anyway," he muttered. "I'm sorry I ruined today," he added.

"The day's only begun, Flynn. Isn't it a little early to assume the whole thing is a waste?" Yuri reached over and ran his fingers through Flynn's short locks. The hair that was normally so soft – seemingly at odds with the spiky appearance – felt a little oily to the touch. Flynn would probably enjoy getting to take a shower today, Yuri thought idly.

"It's our anniversary," Flynn responded quietly. "We had plans and I'm not well enough for them."

"So we'll put it off until the weekend." Yuri dropped his hand to Flynn's shoulder and squeezed. "I'm just glad we're both actually here for our anniversary. Last year we were a whole month late because we were so busy."

"It's always something," Flynn muttered, closing his eyes and leaning into Yuri's touch. "I'm still hungry," he added as his stomach rumbled.

Laughing, Yuri left the room to fetch the promised soup.

* * *

After eating lunch and showering, Flynn felt immensely better. He even got dressed in a plain blue t-shirt that matched his eyes and a pair of brown work-pants that actually belonged to Yuri. The pants were just a little too tight and showed off his butt, which Yuri couldn't stop staring at whenever Flynn stood up.

It certainly made Flynn feel better to know he looked good enough to, as Patty and Raven might put it, distract Yuri with his sexiness despite still feeling kind of crappy. Despite the general aching in his body and lingering headache, Flynn managed to be rather distracted himself. Yuri's 'lazy' outfit – his cleaning day outfit – shouldn't have been so alluring, but Yuri always managed to look seductive in just about anything he wore. Of course, Flynn was pretty certain he was biased about Yuri's ability to appear desirable at any given moment.

The day actually wasn't too bad either. They spent most of it curled up together on the couch, idly talking about whatever they felt like. Flynn wished they could spend more days like that, just the two of them with no outside obligations to deal with.

So when they finished dinner, Flynn made his decision. He excused himself to his room for a few minutes, retrieving a box from beneath his clothes in the dresser, and returned to Yuri.

"Yuri... um... I had this whole thing planned out for today... and I don't want to put off this part." He held out the box, his hand shaking terribly.

Shocked understanding appeared in Yuri's eyes and his hands were shaking too as he picked up the small jewelry box from Flynn's outstretched palm. The box nearly snapped shut on Yuri when he tried to open it, but then he was staring wide-eyed at the platinum and ebony bands within.

"Flynn... are these... are these engagement rings?" Yuri sounded breathless and Flynn hoped it was happiness he saw reflected in Yuri's eyes.

"Yes. Yuri... will you marry me?" Despite the kissing ban Yuri had instigated when Flynn got sick, which the raven-haired man had insisted would last until the next day, Yuri pressed his mouth against Flynn's and then slid his tongue into Flynn's mouth. Though brief, the kiss was passionate and forceful, leaving Flynn wanting more.

"God, yes. I'll marry you," Yuri murmured against Flynn's lips.

Pulling back a little, Flynn picked up the ring sized for Yuri and slid it onto his lover's – his fiance's – left ring finger. He couldn't help but think that Yuri had never looked more beautiful to him, dressed in a slacker outfit with Flynn's ring on his finger...

"I love you."

"Love you too," Yuri responded, eyes dark and face lit by a gorgeous smile as he slid the other ring onto Flynn's finger.


	10. Themed

Disclaimer – I feel a bizarre sense of deja vu. It's as though I've disclaimed all of this before...

Outfits – School outfits

_**Themed**_

Nam Cobanda was getting to be one of Yuri's favorite places to visit.

The hot springs were nice, but it was difficult to ignore Raven being an idiot at that place. (At least Judy had found Raven's behavior funny; things could have gotten so very awkward if she'd decided to take revenge on him.) There wasn't a whole lot to do besides sit in the hot springs, get a massage (which Yuri typically skipped, having never been a fan of strangers touching him), or hang out in the lobby.

At the ongoing fair that was Nam Cobanda, however, there was always something entertaining to do. Poker was fun and Yuri was getting to be pretty good at the base game, so the dealers had taken to teaching him new variations. He particularly liked Texas Hold'em, though he wondered where the name came from. The slot machines were fun too, since you always won something. The occasional plays were usually fun to sit through; the thespian guild employed there were particularly adept at the dramas, with comedy being close behind. Horror, however, was definitely not their strong suit.

The Cowz had started up a new tradition: weekly themes. Visitors didn't have to comply, but anyone staying at the Inn would find themselves provided with complementary outfits just in case they wanted to join in.

Since this was the first week of themes, they'd decided to go with the theme that had inspired the look and feel of the buildings in the first place: high school.

This was why Yuri found himself watching Flynn wearing a button down shirt and green plaid pants while curled up shoeless in a chair in their room at the Inn. It wasn't just the outfit – which looked very flattering on Flynn – or the lack of shoes – which made Yuri want to mess with Flynn's toes – that drew Yuri's attention, though.

There was a pair of reading glasses perched upon Flynn's face.

Licking his lips, Yuri decided that the slightly nerdy look suited Flynn very, very well. Also, Yuri was starting to get horny and if Flynn didn't put down that book and pay attention to Yuri soon, well...

He was pretty certain Flynn wouldn't mind the consequences.

* * *

Just as Flynn was reaching the end of the chapter, Judith had barged into the room and dragged Yuri – whose protests had sounded quite genuine – from the room.

It had been amusing to watch, but now Flynn wasn't really sure what to do. The book was good, but he wanted a break from reading. He wasn't as interested in card games or gambling as Yuri seemed to be, and the carnival games weren't really his thing either. At least, not when he was alone.

Wandering the carnival with Yuri was fun. Sometimes one of them would notice something they wanted, or something they knew one of the others would want, and the two of them would take turns trying to win. In the end, they'd walk away with whatever it was, laughing and enjoying each other's company.

But alone, Flynn just didn't really feel like joining the festivities.

Setting aside his book, Flynn stood and stretched. Maybe he'd go find where Judith had dragged Yuri off too.

The door opened and Yuri stumbled in, slamming the door behind him.

Flynn's first thought went something like 'oh, good, I don't need to look for Yuri after all.' His second thought was 'where did that skirt come from?'

In the twenty minutes Yuri had been gone, his pants had gone missing and a skirt had taken their place. A short, green, plaid skirt... maybe Judith's?

"Uh... Yuri?"

"She's insane!" Yuri declared, throwing a glare back at the door behind him.

"You're... in a skirt."

"Huh? Oh... yeah, I sort of lost a bet. Judy made me swap my pants for her skirt as the payment. I don't know why, though. She's always preferred less clothing to more before." Yuri shrugged and leaned against the door, crossing his ankles.

Flynn licked his lips as his eyes ran up and down Yuri's long legs. He'd always liked Yuri's legs and been aware how long they were, but there was something different about seeing those legs showcased by a skirt instead of pants. A short skirt, to be precise.

It was difficult, but Flynn managed to look up long enough to ask "you don't sound upset about that, so why are you angry?"

"She wouldn't give me the matching tights to go with the skirt. Judy said that if I thought I needed them, then I should just shave my legs instead. Like that's going to happen." Yuri crossed his arms and pouted. Flynn didn't even want to understand what was going on in Yuri's brain anymore.

Taking a few steps forward, Flynn asked, "would you lock the door?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Yuri flicked the lock and stood up straight again. "Planning something fun?" he asked teasingly.

"Most definitely," Flynn agreed, moving to press Yuri up against the door.

He was reaching under Yuri's skirt with one hand when, breathless, Yuri asked, "um... just... would you put your glasses back on?"


	11. Fascination

Disclaimer – Bamco owns, and profits from,_ Tales of Vesperia_. I do not.

Pairing – Yuri/Flynn

Teaser – It was the glasses, though, that brought an end to Yuri's oh-so-carefully maintained self-control. Six, almost seven, years of telling himself he could look and need and want and yearn... but never, never say a word... and it was reading glasses that caused everything to come crashing down.

Object of inspiration – Glasses on Flynn because Yuri thinks Flynn makes for a sexy librarian when he wears them

_**Fascination**_

_Sixteen_

Yuri wasn't anxious. He _wasn't_.

He was just... curious.

Flynn was on a date with a pretty girl named Amelia. She had red hair and green eyes and a cute smile. Her laugh was cute too.

For weeks, Flynn had been tongue tied around Amelia; Yuri had never been so entertained. But, finally, Flynn managed to ask her out to dinner. Though he was happy for Flynn, there was a strange sort of heavy feeling in Yuri's chest.

So Yuri waited up, his dinner only half-eaten as he wondered what Flynn and Amelia had at the tavern or if Flynn told any of the jokes he liked that weren't really funny or if...

It took all of Yuri's will power to pace around the room instead of hopping out the window and sneaking in to see for himself.

"Yuri?" came a muffled voice at the door.

Practically flinging himself at the handle, Yuri yanked the door open. "Flynn?"

The blond looked upset. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, of course." Yuri stepped aside, letting Flynn in and then shutting the door behind him. "What happened?"

"She was using me to make her boyfriend jealous." Flynn looked miserable.

"What?" Yuri blinked, not sure what to say.

"He showed up and told me what was going on. She... she didn't deny it. He broke it off and advised me to leave her alone... and she just started crying and begging him to come back and..." Flynn let out a choked laugh and collapsed onto the bed, his head buried in his hands. "I've never felt so humiliated."

Sitting beside Flynn, Yuri wrapped his arms around his friend. "She was a moron and didn't deserve that guy, much less you. In all of Zaphias, there is no one better than you." He tightened his grip and lay his cheek against Flynn's shoulder.

"Would it make you feel better if I went and punched her in the nose or something?"

Utterly scandalized, Flynn's head jerked up. "Yuri! You can't hit a girl."

"Sure I could. She hurt you. Besides, don't think of her as a girl. Think of her as a bitch."

"Yuri..."

"She hurt you, Flynn. No one gets away with that." Yuri felt rather ill about the whole thing, really. That someone would use his Flynn that way...

_His_ Flynn?

"I'm sure she's suffering already."

"Not nearly suffering enough," Yuri grumbled, but he subsided as Flynn finally scooted around to return Yuri's embrace.

"Yuri...?"

"Mmhmm?"

"I don't suppose you'd make me cookies?"

"Only if you promise not to help." Yuri laughed when Flynn smacked his shoulder, though he did promise to sit quietly and not offer any help with the baking.

As the evening passed, though, Yuri couldn't quite get the question of just when he started thinking of Flynn as his out of his mind.

_Seventeen_

After the disaster with Amelia, Yuri thought it would take a while before Flynn tried again. Yet, somehow, three months seemed far too soon.

Still, Marie was a nice girl. She wasn't as... buxom as Amelia, but she had a kind, shy smile that even Yuri had to admit was kind of attractive. Marie was dark-haired with gray eyes and pale skin. Sometimes, when Flynn would convince Yuri to go on a double date with them – always with some girl that Marie was friends with, but never captivating enough for Yuri to find interesting – people would comment on how Marie looked like Yuri's long, lost sister.

It was a little weird. Even Flynn had to admit to the resemblance.

Their personalities were opposites, at least. Marie was quiet and more dependent than Yuri would ever feel comfortable with. She seemed incapable of the sort of recklessness that defined Yuri. Of course, she thought that Yuri just needed the right girl to tame him and he'd settle right down. As if there was something wrong with him that only having a girlfriend could fix.

Marie was certainly trying to find that girl who'd fix him, too. She'd been with Flynn for four months and, during the last two, there had been far more double dates than Yuri was really comfortable with. Lately he'd found himself trying desperately to keep his attention off Flynn and on whatever poor girl he was supposed to be talking with. They were all pretty, attractive girls too. Some of them had more fluff than brains, but the ones who were smart were funny and deserved a better date than Yuri felt he could be.

He was starting to realize, however, that while he found girls attractive, he just wasn't attracted to them. The only question was how to tell Flynn.

"Marie was telling me about her friend, Annika..."

"Flynn, I... I don't think this is a good idea," Yuri interrupted. "I don't... I'm not..." he trailed off uncertainly, the words sticking in his throat.

"Yuri? What's wrong?"

"I don't think I'm really interested in women," he hedged, wondering how Flynn would react.

"Oh." Flynn tilted his head to the side, frowning thoughtfully. "Are you saying you're gay?"

"Maybe... I don't know. I'm still trying to figure that out. I do know that I'm not interested in dating the girls Marie keeps trying to set me up with. She... has even less idea what my type is than I do and these double dates are making me miserable." Yuri hesitated. "If I am gay... would that be a problem for you?"

"What? No." Flynn shook his head and reached out to grab Yuri's hands with his own. "You're my best friend. That will never change. I'm just a little surprised. I... should have seen for myself you weren't enjoying Marie's attempts at match-making. I guess I've been a little self-absorbed lately."

"You're happy, dating her." The words felt heavy to Yuri and not the slightest bit fair. "You just wanted me to be happy too. That's not really selfishness, Flynn."

"It is if I can't see how my actions are making things more difficult for you." Flynn squeezed Yuri's hands lightly before letting them drop.

Blushing, Yuri tried to tell himself that he wasn't falling for his best friend...

_Eighteen_

The only conclusion Yuri could come to was that he was screwed.

He kept staring at Flynn in a very... not-platonic manner. He did his best not to, but it was so difficult.

Flynn's eyes were a gorgeous shade of blue, but there were flecks of gray in there that Yuri had only recently started noticing. Then there was Flynn's hair, which was decidedly softer since he'd switched shampoos (he smelled differently too). Not to forget the way his pants showed off his ass...

Keeping Flynn's girlfriend from noticing was more of a chore than keeping the blond himself oblivious, though.

"Uh, Flynn? You look dazed. Everything okay?" Yuri tried not to be diverted by the way Flynn's shirt showed off the muscles in his arms.

"I broke up with Marie."

Inwardly, Yuri cheered though he remained outwardly neutral. "What happened?"

"We... we were fighting again, about my plans to join the Knights next week." Flynn sighed. "I broke it off with her. If she can't accept that this is what I want to do with my life, then... we don't really make a good couple, do we?"

"Not really," Yuri agreed, growing contemplative. "Your Dad," he added quietly, "was a pretty amazing person and the best Knight I've ever known. I... haven't liked the way she's been trying to keep you from following in his footsteps."

"I guess this is for the best..."

Yuri nodded and tried not to smile too brightly at the thought that he wouldn't have to see Flynn kissing her anymore.

* * *

Flynn was an ass.

Curled up beside Repede, blanket wrapped around them both, Yuri sniffled as much from the cold as from his bruised feelings. Flynn had apologized – as had he – but that didn't negate the fact that Flynn was an ass.

When had he stopped being proud of his father, anyway? He'd become such a bore, too. Convincing Flynn to hang out was far more painful an experience than it should have been.

Yuri sighed and tried to snuggle in closer to the puppy's warmth. There was no use dwelling on how Flynn had changed. Yuri was different now too, after all.

Basic training hadn't been kind to either of them, it seemed. It left them feeling like strangers during the ride to join Niren's brigade and it hadn't really abated over the past month.

Sniffling again, Yuri thought longingly of the room he shared with Flynn. Blastia heated the building on nights like this one. There was one notable problem with his half-formed plan of grabbing Repede and heading inside. Flynn was such a stickler for the rules, he'd probably get pissed at Yuri for bringing the dog into the barracks... which would lead to yet another argument between them.

He sneezed.

"Oh screw it," Yuri grumbled. Standing up, he wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and then picked up Repede. Though the night before had been temperate enough, autumn's chill was certainly making itself felt now.

"Yuri?" Flynn peeked into the stable, growing visibly relieved at the sight of Yuri. "Are you bringing Repede to our room?" He held open the door, sounding almost hopeful.

"Um... yes, actually..."

"Good. It's too cold out here for you two tonight." Flynn sighed at the sight of what must have been a stunned expression on Yuri's face. "I'm not really that bad, am I?"

"Not usually, but lately..." Yuri shrugged and followed Flynn out of the barn and up to their room. Once inside, he place Repede on his bed and immediately shucked off his boots. "Are you okay? You have this... weird look on your face."

"I'm... not really sure," Flynn admitted, taking a seat beside Yuri and absently reaching over to pet Repede. "I've... been kind of an ass lately, haven't I?"

It was like he had read Yuri's mind. Hopefully he hadn't heard all of Yuri's thoughts. "Well... do you really want me to answer that?"

"Probably not. I just... during our training in Zaphias, my squad was under Lieutenant Cumore. He kept... he was..." Flynn paused uncertainly. "He told me he knew my father and... that he was a failure. A fool who died needlessly, disobeying orders."

"So he's the one who got you all mixed up about your father's death. You said earlier that when someone dies, that's it... there's nothing left." Yuri shook his head. "But that's not true at all. Your father was one of the bravest men I've ever known. He valued the lives of the people in the lower quarter more than following orders and... he valued your life more than his own.

"You're what he left behind, Flynn. You're his legacy. You could achieve so much but... you can't let people like Cumore hold you back. Imagine, Flynn, if your dad had followed orders. You and I and so many others would have probably died because he wouldn't have stopped the blastia from exploding inside the city. Half the lower quarter... gone. He... he couldn't have lived with that, Flynn. But that is the sort of life we have to live up to."

"Is that why you agree with Captain Niren's decision?"

"Yes." Yuri paused and then decided he might as well make a few confessions of his own. "My instructor was Lieutenant Everett. He... had a tendency to border on sexual harassment towards the lady knights when he was sober. When he was drunk, though, he'd show up in the men's barracks and feel us up. No one would do anything about it... so we took to keeping knives in reach. He was... easily deterred and didn't normally remember how he got cut up the next day.

"If we hadn't been assigned to a Captain like Niren, I'd have probably quit by now."

Flynn's shocked expression said it all. Reaching out, he grabbed Yuri's hand and squeezed tightly. "Did he ever...?"

"No, no... he never made it under my shirt, much less into my pants," Yuri assured Flynn. "Not for lack of trying, but he wasn't a particularly coordinated drunk... fortunately.

"Anyway, my point is that we've both had our reasons for being kind of screwed up lately. We've been living in the same room for a month, but I've missed you this whole time."

"I know what you mean," Flynn murmured, leaning his forehead against Yuri's shoulder. "I promise... that I'll do my best to keep personal problems from hurting our friendship and that I won't let other people dictate how I view my father's death. I'm not sure I'll ever really be comfortable with the choices he made, but you're right in that I should respect his decision. Father always did his best to do the right thing and that's what he was trying to do in the end.

"I just... miss him so much. I've wanted so badly to blame someone for his death in that accident... and everything Cumore and the other officers would say made it so easy to... to blame him. But it's left me feeling so twisted up inside; I hate feeling this way."

Putting his arms around Flynn's shoulders, Yuri tried to ignore the way his heart ached. "We should get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be one hell of a day."

_Twenty-Two_

So Yuri left the Knights, taking Repede and Niren's blastia with him, while Flynn stayed. They were on better terms with each other, but things were still a little awkward. The only thing that Yuri was certain of was that his crush on Flynn was no longer a crush.

For all that Flynn was flawed and irritating and sometimes a thoughtless jerk... Yuri loved him.

Three years passed and Yuri's feelings didn't change, leading to a few doomed relationships that simply couldn't cure him of his unrequited love for his oblivious friend. Though his longest relationship – nearly a year – had been with a young man who could have been Flynn's long-lost twin: Guy Cecil. They'd been more like friends-with-benefits, both rather honest with each other about being in love with someone else, but they'd genuinely liked one another. If not for Flynn, and Luke, perhaps they could have had something more together.

Eventually Yuri found himself alone again, chaffing at the feeling of being trapped in the lower quarter, but unable to come up with a solution to the problem that wouldn't involve leaving. He didn't want to leave the lower quarter. He was comfortable there... content. Repede seemed happy enough.

Besides, leaving would mean seeing less of Flynn. Flynn barely had time for Yuri as it was; the idea of being cut even further out of the blond's life terrified Yuri.

In the end fate, and a pink haired princess, intervened and Yuri left Zaphias behind anyway. He became a murderer and the founder of a guild. He gained a sister and stopped a tyrant. He saved the world. It was all oddly freeing.

Through all of that, Yuri watched as Flynn overcame his personal failings in addition to the seemingly impossible obstacles that threatened to block his unprecedented and meteoric rise to the position of Commandant. Yuri fell even more in love with the blond idiot. However, Yuri was no longer desperate to remain a part of Flynn's life. He became desperate to remove himself from Flynn's life.

For a low born man in the position of Commandant, Flynn needed to keep the reasons the Council had for disliking him to a minimum. Consorting with a murderer, regardless of an official Imperial pardon from Emperor Ioder, would look bad for Flynn in the eyes of the Council.

Flynn, however, was... less than pleased by the concept of Yuri being more than an hour away from him at all times. He took to spending his evenings – on the occasions where he didn't end up working into the early hours of the morning – and the few off hours he allowed himself in Yuri's room at the Inn. Sometimes Yuri would come back from missions late at night to find Flynn curled up, asleep in his bed.

On those nights, Yuri would wake Flynn just enough to make the other scoot over. Yuri couldn't quite resist the chance to fall asleep with Flynn's warmth pressed against his side or the opportunity to wake up to find that Flynn's arms had wrapped around him as they slept.

It was the glasses, though, that brought an end to Yuri's oh-so-carefully maintained self-control. Six, almost seven, years of telling himself he could look and need and want and yearn... but never, never say a word... and it was reading glasses that caused everything to come crashing down.

At least it wasn't cat-ears. That would have been embarrassing for them both.

* * *

Yuri walked into his room and unbelted his vest, dropping both the vest and the belt on the desk chair before turning to his bed and freezing at the sight.

It wasn't unusual for Flynn to be asleep in his bed when Yuri came back late from a mission. Yuri still wasn't quite sure what to make of Flynn's sudden obsession with being the first person to see Yuri when he got back to Zaphias, but he wasn't about to say anything that might make Flynn stop. It was nice to be welcomed home by his best friend.

It was nice to have his best friend in his bed, even if all they did in it was sleep.

(Of course, Raven and Judy assumed that other things were going on. Estelle, however, believed him when he said nothing happened, but she seemed to be of the opinion that nothing was happening because Yuri and Flynn were both oblivious idiots. Rita rather vocally agreed with Estelle's opinion. Karol kept his thoughts on the subject to himself, which had made him Yuri's favorite member of the guild.)

What made Yuri freeze in place at the sight of Flynn was the way he looked at that moment. Dressed in pajamas (blue to match his eyes) and a book in his hands, this was almost a scene Yuri had witnessed at least a dozen times over. Even the fact that Flynn had fallen asleep, book nearly slipping from his grasp, was familiar. The reading glasses, however, were new.

Yuri felt a hot burst of want flood through him at the sight of Flynn wearing those glasses. He threw out a hand and steadied himself, then closed his eyes in a futile attempt to block out the sight.

There were always times when Flynn would look so good that Yuri had to restrain himself from walking over and kissing the blond. The last thing he wanted to do was wreck their relationship. But this time...

This time, Flynn might not even notice...

Opening his dark eyes again, Yuri crept over to the sleeping blond and eased the book from his hands. Marking Flynn's place, Yuri set it aside on the floor, beneath the bed so it wouldn't get stepped on. Then Yuri waited a moment, to see if Flynn would stir from the disturbance. But Flynn just sighed softly and tilted his head a little to the left against the wall.

So certain that this was the only chance he'd get for this, Yuri leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss against Flynn's lips. He drew back, his heart pounding and his body warm from the feeling of Flynn's chapped lips against his own.

Yuri wanted more and he forced himself to move away instead. Bad enough to have stolen one kiss from his best friend. Yuri didn't dare steal another.

Flynn stirred from his sleep at that moment. Blinking sleepily, he looked brought a hand up to his lips, a look of confusion on his face. Yuri tried not to panic; did Flynn feel that kiss in his sleep?

Looking up, Flynn saw Yuri standing there and his eyes widened slightly, a blush turning his cheeks red. "Um, Yuri... did you...? I mean... that is..."

"Did you have a weird dream?" Yuri asked, his voice giving away far too much for his own comfort, but maybe Flynn wouldn't notice. Flynn seemed like he was still half-asleep, after all.

But then he blinked again and the blue eyes behind those reading glasses grew clearer. Flynn pushed the covers aside and stood up, stretching deliberately.

Yuri tried to control his gaze, but couldn't. He wanted Flynn so much... and Flynn had to see that, even with the reading glasses making him slightly near-sighted.

Flynn walked over to Yuri and slid his arms around the raven-haired man's shoulders. "It isn't very nice to steal a kiss when I can't enjoy it properly," he informed Yuri. Then Flynn leaned in to steal a kiss of his own.


End file.
